Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 135 / Monday, July 19, 2021 / Notices 38061 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Applications for New Awards— 

American History and Civics 

Education—Presidential and 

Congressional Academies for 

American History and Civics 

AGENCY: Office of Elementary and 

Secondary Education, Department of 

Education. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Education 

(Department) is issuing a notice inviting 

applications for new awards for fiscal 

year (FY) 2021 for the Presidential and 

Congressional Academies for American 

History and Civics (Academies) 

Program, Assistance Listing Number 

84.422A. This notice relates to the 

approved information collection under 

OMB control number 1894–0006. 

DATES:

Applications Available: July 19, 2021. 

Date of Pre-Application Webinars: 

The Office of Elementary and Secondary 

Education intends to post pre-recorded 

informational webinars designed to 

provide technical assistance to 

interested applicants for grants under 

the Academies Program. These 

informational webinars will be available 

to the public on the Academies Program 

web page within two weeks of the 

publication of this notice in the Federal 

Register at https://oese.ed.gov/offices/ 

office-of-discretionary-grants-supportservices/effective-educatordevelopment-programs/americanhistory-and-civics-academies/. 

Note: For potential grantees new or 

unfamiliar with grantmaking at the 

Department, please consult our funding 

basics resource at www2.ed.gov/ 

documents/funding-101/funding-101- 

basics.pdf or a more detailed resource at 

www2.ed.gov/documents/funding-101/ 

funding-101.pdf. 

Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: 

August 18, 2021. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: August 18, 2021. 

Deadline for Intergovernmental 

Review: October 4, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: For the addresses for 

obtaining and submitting an 

application, please refer to our Common 

Instructions for Applicants to 

Department of Education Discretionary 

Grant Programs, published in the 

Federal Register on February 13, 2019 

(84 FR 3768) and available at 

www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2019- 

02-13/pdf/2019-02206.pdf. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Diana Schneider, U.S. Department of 

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, 

Room 3C152, Washington, DC 20202– 

5960. Telephone: (202) 401–1456. 

Email: Diana.Schneider@ed.gov. 

If you use a telecommunications 

device for the deaf (TDD) or a text 

telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay 

Service (FRS), toll free, at 1–800–877– 

8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Full Text of Announcement 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

Purpose of Program: The Academies 

Program supports the establishment of: 

(1) Presidential Academies for the 

Teaching of American History and 

Civics that offer workshops for both 

veteran and new teachers to strengthen 

their knowledge of American history, 

civics, and government education 

(Presidential Academies); and (2) 

Congressional Academies for Students 

of American History and Civics that 

provide high school students 

opportunities to enrich their 

understanding of these subjects 

(Congressional Academies). 

Background: The Academies Program 

supports projects to raise student 

achievement in American history and 

civics by improving teachers’ and 

students’ knowledge, understanding, 

and engagement with these subjects 

through intensive workshops with 

scholars, master teachers, and 

curriculum experts. Project activities 

should reflect the best available research 

and practice in teaching and learning. 

This program is authorized under 

section 2232 of the Elementary and 

Secondary Act of 1965, as amended 

(ESEA). 

This competition includes two 

absolute priorities, one competitive 

preference priority, and two invitational 

priorities. Consistent with section 2232 

of the ESEA, the absolute priorities 

address professional development and 

instruction in American history and 

civics for teachers and students. The 

competitive preference priority, from 

section 2232(e)(4) of the ESEA, 

encourages applicants to develop 

programs using the resources from the 

National Park Service. This competitive 

preference priority is available only to 

applicants that address Absolute 

Priority 1. 

The Department continues to process, 

review, and fully respond to the 

significant number of public comments 

received in response to the notice of 

proposed priorities published in the 

Federal Register on April 19, 2021 (86 

FR 20348) (NPP). As a result, it is not 

possible to issue a notice of final 

priorities in time to use the priorities 

included in that NPP as competitive 

preference priorities for this FY 2021 

competition. Because the Department 

has not yet issued final priorities, we are 

using these proposed priorities as 

invitational priorities. Consistent with 

the use of invitational priorities across 

grant competitions, applicants are not 

required to respond to the invitational 

priorities, and applications that meet 

invitational priorities do not receive a 

preference or competitive advantage 

over other applications. 

The Department believes that teaching 

and learning practices that reflect the 

diversity, identities, histories, 

contributions, and experiences of all 

students promote academic and socialemotional development for all groups of 

students. To that end, Invitational 

Priority 1 reinforces that American 

history and civics education programs 

can play an important role in supporting 

teaching and learning that reflects the 

depth and breadth of our Nation’s 

diverse history and the vital role of 

diversity in our Nation’s democracy. 

This can be accomplished, in part, 

through teaching and learning 

environments that provide students 

with a full and accurate understanding 

of our Nation’s history, expose students 

to a range of important civics topics and 

equip them with the skills needed to 

fully participate in civic life, enable 

students to see themselves and their 

histories in the learning experience, and 

empower students by developing their 

problem-solving and critical thinking 

skills. 

Accordingly, Invitational Priority 1 

encourages applicants to incorporate 

practices that reflect the diversity, 

identities, histories, contributions, and 

experiences of all students into teaching 

and learning and create inclusive, 

supportive, and identity-safe learning 

environments. 

Invitational Priority 2 encourages 

applicants to foster information literacy 

skills, including critical thinking, and 

promote student engagement in civics 

education through professional 

development opportunities for teachers. 

The Department fully recognizes and 

respects that curriculum decisions are 

made at the State and local levels, not 

by the Federal Government, and does 

not mandate, direct, or control curricula 

through this competition. Rather, the 

Department, through this competition, 

seeks to encourage efforts to implement 

more effective, student-centered 

teaching practices and professional 

development activities while promoting 

learning practices that reflect the 

diversity, identities, histories, 

contributions, and experiences of all 

students to support enriched 

educational opportunity, equity, and 

success for all students. 


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Priorities: This notice contains two 

absolute priorities, one competitive 

preference priority, and two invitational 

priorities. In accordance with 34 CFR 

75.105(b)(2)(iv), the absolute priorities 

are from section 2232(e)(1) and (f)(1) of 

the ESEA, 20 U.S.C. 6662. The 

competitive preference priority is from 

section 2232(e)(4) of the ESEA. 

Absolute Priorities: For FY 2021 and 

any subsequent year in which we make 

awards from the list of unfunded 

applications from this competition, 

these priorities are absolute priorities. 

Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3), we consider 

only applications that meet both of 

these priorities. 

These priorities are: 

Absolute Priority 1—Presidential 

Academies for the Teaching of 

American History and Civics. 

Under this priority, an applicant must 

propose to establish a Presidential 

Academy that offers a seminar or 

institute for teachers of American 

history and civics, which— 

(a) Provides intensive professional 

development opportunities for teachers 

of American history and civics to 

strengthen such teachers’ knowledge of 

the subjects of American history and 

civics; 

(b) Is led by a team of primary 

scholars and core teachers who are 

accomplished in the field of American 

history and civics; 

(c) Is conducted during the summer or 

other appropriate time; and 

(d) Is of not less than two weeks and 

not more than six weeks in duration. 

Absolute Priority 2—Congressional 

Academies for Students of American 

History and Civics. 

Under this priority, an applicant must 

propose to establish a seminar or 

institute for outstanding students of 

American history and civics, which— 

(a) Broadens and deepens such 

students’ understanding of American 

history and civics; 

(b) Is led by a team of primary 

scholars and core teachers who are 

accomplished in the field of American 

history and civics; 

(c) Is conducted during the summer or 

other appropriate time; and 

(d) Is of not less than two weeks and 

not more than six weeks in duration. 

Competitive Preference Priority: For 

applications addressing Absolute 

Priority 1, we give competitive 

preference to applications that address 

the following priority. For FY 2021 and 

any subsequent year in which we make 

awards from the list of unfunded 

applications from this competition, this 

priority is a competitive preference 

priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i) 

we award up to an additional three 

points to an application, depending on 

how well the application meets this 

priority. 

This priority is: 

Using the Resources of the National 

Parks. (up to 3 points) 

Applicants that propose to develop 

innovative and comprehensive 

programs using the resources of the 

National Parks, including, to the extent 

practicable, through coordination or 

alignment of activities with the National 

Park Service National Centennial Parks 

initiative. 

Note: The Department recognizes that 

the National Park Service Centennial 

occurred in 2016, and that consequently 

it may not be feasible to coordinate 

activities with this initiative. However, 

applicants can address this priority by 

proposing to develop innovative and 

comprehensive programs using other 

resources of the National Parks. 

Invitational Priorities: For FY 2021 

and any subsequent year in which we 

make awards from the list of unfunded 

applications from this competition, 

these priorities are invitational 

priorities. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1) we 

do not give an application that meets 

these invitational priorities a 

competitive or absolute preference over 

other applications. 

These priorities are: 

Invitational Priority 1—Projects That 

Incorporate Racially, Ethnically, 

Culturally, and Linguistically Diverse 

Perspectives into Teaching and 

Learning. 

Projects that incorporate teaching and 

learning practices that reflect the 

diversity, identities, histories, 

contributions, and experiences of all 

students and create inclusive, 

supportive, and identity-safe learning 

environments that— 

(a) Take into account systemic 

marginalization, biases, inequities, and 

discriminatory policy and practice in 

American history; 

(b) Incorporate racially, ethnically, 

culturally, and linguistically diverse 

perspectives and perspectives on the 

experience of individuals with 

disabilities; 

(c) Encourage students to critically 

analyze the diverse perspectives of 

historical and contemporary media and 

its impacts; 

(d) Support the creation of learning 

environments that validate and reflect 

the diversity, identities, and experiences 

of all students; and 

(e) Contribute to inclusive, 

supportive, and identity-safe learning 

environments. 

Invitational Priority 2—Promoting 

Information Literacy Skills. 

Projects that describe how they will 

foster critical thinking and promote 

student engagement in civics education 

through professional development or 

other activities designed to support 

students in— 

(a) Evaluating sources and evidence 

using standards of proof; 

(b) Understanding their own biases 

when reviewing information, as well as 

uncovering and recognizing bias in 

primary and secondary sources; 

(c) Synthesizing information into 

cogent communications; and 

(d) Understanding how inaccurate 

information may be used to influence 

individuals, and developing strategies to 

recognize accurate and inaccurate 

information. 

Definitions: The following definitions 

are from 34 CFR 77.1. 

Demonstrates a rationale means a key 

project component included in the 

project’s logic model is informed by 

research or evaluation findings that 

suggest the project component is likely 

to improve relevant outcomes. 

Logic model (also referred to as a 

theory of action) means a framework 

that identifies key project components 

of the proposed project (i.e., the active 

‘‘ingredients’’ that are hypothesized to 

be critical to achieving the relevant 

outcomes) and describes the theoretical 

and operational relationships among the 

key project components and relevant 

outcomes. 

Project component means an activity, 

strategy, intervention, process, product, 

practice, or policy included in a project. 

Evidence may pertain to an individual 

project component or to a combination 

of project components (e.g., training 

teachers on instructional practices for 

English learners and follow-on coaching 

for these teachers). 

Relevant outcome means the student 

outcome(s) or other outcome(s) the key 

project component is designed to 

improve, consistent with the specific 

goals of the program. 

Application Requirements: The 

following requirements are from section 

2232(e)(2), (e)(3), (f)(2), and (f)(3) of the 

ESEA. Applicants submitting 

applications under Absolute Priority 1 

of this competition must meet 

requirements (a) and (b) listed in this 

section. Applicants submitting 

applications under Absolute Priority 2 

must meet requirements (c), (d), and (e) 

listed in this section. Applicants 

submitting applications under both 

Absolute Priority 1 and Absolute 

Priority 2 must meet requirements (a), 

(b), (c), (d), and (e) listed in this section. 

(a) Selection of teachers. Each year, 

each Presidential Academy shall select 

between 50 and 300 teachers of 


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American history and civics from public 

or private elementary schools and 

secondary schools to attend the seminar 

or institute. 

(b) Teacher stipends. Each teacher 

selected to participate in a seminar or 

institute under this competition shall be 

awarded a fixed stipend based on the 

length of the seminar or institute to 

ensure that such teacher does not incur 

personal costs associated with the 

teacher’s participation in the seminar or 

institute. 

(c) Selection of students. Each year, 

each Congressional Academy shall 

select between 100 and 300 eligible 

students to attend the seminar or 

institute under this competition. 

(d) Eligible students. A student shall 

be eligible to attend a seminar or 

institute offered by a Congressional 

Academy under this competition if the 

student— 

(i) Is recommended by the student’s 

secondary school principal or other 

school leader to attend the seminar or 

institute; and 

(ii) Will be a secondary school junior 

or senior in the academic year following 

attendance at the seminar or institute. 

(e) Student stipends. Each student 

selected to participate in a seminar or 

institute under this competition shall be 

awarded a fixed stipend based on the 

length of the seminar or institute to 

ensure that such student does not incur 

personal costs associated with the 

student’s participation in the seminar or 

institute. 

Program Authority: Section 2232 of 

the ESEA. 

Note: Projects will be awarded and 

must be operated in a manner consistent 

with the nondiscrimination 

requirements contained in the Federal 

civil rights laws. 

Applicable Regulations: (a) The 

Education Department General 

Administrative Regulations in 34 CFR 

parts 75, 77, 79, 81, 82, 84, 86, 97, 98, 

and 99. (b) The Office of Management 

and Budget Guidelines to Agencies on 

Governmentwide Debarment and 

Suspension (Nonprocurement) in 2 CFR 

part 180, as adopted and amended as 

regulations of the Department in 2 CFR 

part 3485. (c) The Uniform 

Administrative Requirements, Cost 

Principles, and Audit Requirements for 

Federal Awards in 2 CFR part 200, as 

adopted and amended as regulations of 

the Department in 2 CFR part 3474. 

Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 

86 apply to institutions of higher 

education only. 

II. Award Information 

Type of Award: Discretionary grants. 

Estimated Available Funds: 

$1,700,000. 

Contingent upon the availability of 

funds and the quality of applications, 

we may make additional awards in 

subsequent years from the list of 

unfunded applications from this 

competition. 

Estimated Range of Awards: 

$300,000–$500,000 per year. 

Estimated Average Size of Awards: 

$400,000 per year. 

Estimated Number of Awards: 1. 

Maximum Award: We will not make 

an award exceeding $500,000 to any 

applicant per 12-month budget period. 

The Department plans to fully fund 

awards made under this notice with FY 

2021 funds. 

Note: The Department is not bound by 

any estimates in this notice. 

Project Period: Up to 60 months. 

III. Eligibility Information 

1. Eligible Applicants: An institution 

of higher education, or nonprofit 

educational organization, museum, 

library, or research center with 

demonstrated expertise in historical 

methodology or the teaching of 

American history and civics; or a 

consortium of these entities. 

In its application, an applicant must 

submit documentation of its 

organization’s demonstrated expertise in 

historical methodology or the teaching 

of American history or civics. 

Note: Consortium applicants must 

follow the procedures for group 

applications described in 34 CFR 75.127 

through 34 CFR 75.129. 

Note: If you are a nonprofit 

organization, under 34 CFR 75.51, you 

may demonstrate your nonprofit status 

by providing: (1) Proof that the Internal 

Revenue Service currently recognizes 

the applicant as an organization to 

which contributions are tax deductible 

under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal 

Revenue Code; (2) a statement from a 

State taxing body or the State attorney 

general certifying that the organization 

is a nonprofit organization operating 

within the State and that no part of its 

net earnings may lawfully benefit any 

private shareholder or individual; (3) a 

certified copy of the applicant’s 

certificate of incorporation or similar 

document if it clearly establishes the 

nonprofit status of the applicant; or (4) 

any item described above if that item 

applies to a State or national parent 

organization, together with a statement 

by the State or parent organization that 

the applicant is a local nonprofit 

affiliate. 

2.a. Cost Sharing or Matching: Under 

section 2232(g)(1) of the ESEA, each 

grant recipient must provide, from nonFederal sources, an amount equal to 100 

percent of the amount of the grant, 

which may be provided in cash or inkind contributions, to carry out the 

activities supported by the grant. To 

meet this requirement, grantees must 

provide matching contributions on an 

annual basis relative to the amount of 

Academies Program funds received for a 

fiscal year. 

Under section 2232(g)(2) of the ESEA, 

the Secretary may waive the matching 

requirement for any fiscal year for a 

grantee if the Secretary determines that 

applying the matching requirement 

would result in serious hardship or an 

inability to carry out project activities. 

Applicants that wish to apply for a 

waiver for one or more fiscal years may 

include a request in their application 

that describes how the 100 percent 

matching requirement would cause 

serious hardship or an inability to carry 

out project activities. 

b. Supplement-Not-Supplant: This 

program involves supplement-notsupplant funding requirements. In 

accordance with section 2301 of the 

ESEA, funds made available under this 

program must be used to supplement, 

and not supplant, other non-Federal 

funds that would otherwise be 

expended to carry out activities under 

this program. 

c. Indirect Cost Rate Information: This 

program uses a training indirect cost 

rate. This limits indirect cost 

reimbursement to an entity’s actual 

indirect costs, as determined in its 

negotiated indirect cost rate agreement, 

or eight percent of a modified total 

direct cost base, whichever amount is 

less. For more information regarding 

training indirect cost rates, see 34 CFR 

75.562. For more information regarding 

indirect costs, or to obtain a negotiated 

indirect cost rate, please see https://

www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocfo/ 

intro.html. 

d. Administrative Cost Limitation: 

This program does not include any 

program-specific limitation on 

administrative expenses. All 

administrative expenses must be 

reasonable and necessary and conform 

to Cost Principles described in 2 CFR 

part 200 subpart E of the Uniform 

Guidance. 

3. Subgrantees: A grantee under this 

competition may not award subgrants to 

entities to directly carry out project 

activities described in its application. 

IV. Application and Submission 

Information 

1. Application Submission 

Instructions: Applicants are required to 

follow the Common Instructions for 

Applicants to Department of Education 


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38064 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 135 / Monday, July 19, 2021 / Notices 

Discretionary Grant Programs, 

published in the Federal Register on 

February 13, 2019 (84 FR 3768) and 

available at www.govinfo.gov/content/ 

pkg/FR-2019-02-13/pdf/2019-02206.pdf, 

which contain requirements and 

information on how to submit an 

application. 

2. Submission of Proprietary 

Information: Given the types of projects 

that may be proposed in applications for 

the Academies competition, your 

application may include business 

information that you consider 

proprietary. In 34 CFR 5.11 we define 

‘‘business information’’ and describe the 

process we use in determining whether 

any of that information is proprietary 

and, thus, protected from disclosure 

under Exemption 4 of the Freedom of 

Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552, as 

amended). 

Because, consistent with the process 

followed in the FY 2017 Academies 

competition, we plan to post on our 

website the application narrative 

sections of all Academies grants, you 

may wish to request confidentiality of 

business information. 

Consistent with Executive Order 

12600, please designate in your 

application any information that you 

believe is exempt from disclosure under 

Exemption 4. In the appropriate 

Appendix section of your application, 

under ‘‘Other Attachments Form,’’ 

please list the page number or numbers 

on which we can find this information. 

3. Intergovernmental Review: This 

program is subject to Executive Order 

12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR 

part 79. Information about 

Intergovernmental Review of Federal 

Programs under Executive Order 12372 

is in the application package for this 

competition. Please note that, under 34 

CFR 79.8(a), we have shortened the 

standard 60-day intergovernmental 

review period in order to make awards 

by the end of FY 2021. 

4. Funding Restrictions: We specify 

unallowable costs in 2 CFR 200, subpart 

E. We reference additional regulations 

outlining funding restrictions in the 

Applicable Regulations section of this 

notice. 

5. Recommended Page Limit: The 

application narrative is where you, the 

applicant, address the selection criteria 

that reviewers use to evaluate your 

application. We recommend that you (1) 

limit the application narrative to no 

more than 50 pages and (2) use the 

following standards: 

• A ‘‘page’’ is 8.5′′ x 11′′, on one side 

only, with 1′′ margins at the top, bottom, 

and both sides. 

• Double space (no more than three 

lines per vertical inch) all text in the 

application narrative, including titles, 

headings, footnotes, quotations, 

references, and captions, as well as all 

text in charts, tables, figures, and 

graphs. 

• Use a font that is either 12 point or 

larger or no smaller than 10 pitch 

(characters per inch). 

• Use one of the following fonts: 

Times New Roman, Courier, Courier 

New, or Arial. 

The recommended page limit does not 

apply to the cover sheet; the budget 

section, including the narrative budget 

justification; the assurances and 

certifications; or the one-page abstract, 

the resumes, the bibliography, or the 

letters of support. However, the 

recommended page limit does apply to 

all of the application narrative. 

6. Notice of Intent to Apply: The 

Department will be able to review grant 

applications more efficiently if we know 

the approximate number of applicants 

that intend to apply. Therefore, we 

strongly encourage each potential 

applicant to notify us of their intent to 

submit an application. To do so, please 

email the program contact person listed 

under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT with the subject line ‘‘Intent to 

Apply,’’ and include the applicant’s 

name and a contact person’s name and 

email address. Applicants that do not 

submit a notice of intent to apply may 

still apply for funding; applicants that 

do submit a notice of intent to apply are 

not bound to apply or bound by the 

information provided. 

V. Application Review Information 

1. Selection Criteria: The selection 

criteria for this program are from 34 CFR 

75.210. An applicant may earn up to a 

total of 100 points based on the 

selection criteria. The maximum score 

for addressing each criterion is 

indicated in parentheses. 

(a) Quality of the project design. (35 

points) 

(1) The Secretary considers the 

quality of the design of the proposed 

project. 

(2) In determining the quality of the 

design of the proposed project, the 

Secretary considers the following 

factors: 

(i) The extent to which the proposed 

project demonstrates a rationale. (20 

points) 

(ii) The extent to which the proposed 

project represents an exceptional 

approach to the priority or priorities 

established for the competition. (15 

points) 

(b) Need for project. (25 points) 

(1) The Secretary considers the need 

for the proposed project. 

(2) In determining the need for the 

proposed project, the Secretary 

considers the following factors: 

(i) The magnitude or severity of the 

problem to be addressed by the 

proposed project. (8 points) 

(ii) The extent to which specific gaps 

or weaknesses in services, 

infrastructure, or opportunities have 

been identified and will be addressed by 

the proposed project, including the 

nature and magnitude of those gaps or 

weaknesses. (10 points) 

(iii) The extent to which the services 

to be provided by the proposed project 

are focused on those with greatest 

needs. (7 points) 

(c) Quality of the management plan. 

(20 points) 

(1) The Secretary considers the 

quality of the management plan for the 

proposed project. 

(2) In determining the quality of the 

management plan for the proposed 

project, the Secretary considers the 

following factors: 

(i) The adequacy of the management 

plan to achieve the objectives of the 

proposed project on time and within 

budget, including clearly defined 

responsibilities, timelines, and 

milestones for accomplishing project 

tasks. 

(ii) The adequacy of procedures for 

ensuring feedback and continuous 

improvement in the operation of the 

proposed project. 

(d) Quality of the project evaluation. 

(20 points) 

(1) The Secretary considers the 

quality of the evaluation to be 

conducted of the proposed project. 

(2) In determining the quality of the 

evaluation, the Secretary considers the 

following factors: 

(i) The extent to which the methods 

of evaluation include the use of 

objective performance measures that are 

clearly related to the intended outcomes 

of the project and will produce 

quantitative and qualitative data to the 

extent possible. 

(ii) The extent to which the methods 

of evaluation will provide performance 

feedback and permit periodic 

assessment of progress toward achieving 

intended outcomes. 

2. Review and Selection Process: We 

remind potential applicants that in 

reviewing applications in any 

discretionary grant competition, the 

Secretary may consider, under 34 CFR 

75.217(d)(3), the past performance of the 

applicant in carrying out a previous 

award, such as the applicant’s use of 

funds, achievement of project 

objectives, and compliance with grant 

conditions. The Secretary may also 

consider whether the applicant failed to 


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submit a timely performance report or 

submitted a report of unacceptable 

quality. 

In addition, in making a competitive 

grant award, the Secretary requires 

various assurances, including those 

applicable to Federal civil rights laws 

that prohibit discrimination in programs 

or activities receiving Federal financial 

assistance from the Department (34 CFR 

100.4, 104.5, 106.4, 108.8, and 110.23). 

3. Risk Assessment and Specific 

Conditions: Consistent with 2 CFR 

200.206, before awarding grants under 

this competition the Department 

conducts a review of the risks posed by 

applicants. Under 2 CFR 200.208, the 

Secretary may impose specific 

conditions and, under 2 CFR 3474.10, in 

appropriate circumstances, high-risk 

conditions on a grant if the applicant or 

grantee is not financially stable; has a 

history of unsatisfactory performance; 

has a financial or other management 

system that does not meet the standards 

in 2 CFR part 200, subpart D; has not 

fulfilled the conditions of a prior grant; 

or is otherwise not responsible. 

4. Integrity and Performance System: 

If you are selected under this 

competition to receive an award that 

over the course of the project period 

may exceed the simplified acquisition 

threshold (currently $250,000), under 2 

CFR 200.206(a)(2) we must make a 

judgment about your integrity, business 

ethics, and record of performance under 

Federal awards—that is, the risk posed 

by you as an applicant—before we make 

an award. In doing so, we must consider 

any information about you that is in the 

integrity and performance system 

(currently referred to as the Federal 

Awardee Performance and Integrity 

Information System (FAPIIS)), 

accessible through the System for 

Award Management. You may review 

and comment on any information about 

yourself that a Federal agency 

previously entered and that is currently 

in FAPIIS. 

Please note that, if the total value of 

your currently active grants, cooperative 

agreements, and procurement contracts 

from the Federal Government exceeds 

$10,000,000, the reporting requirements 

in 2 CFR part 200, Appendix XII, 

require you to report certain integrity 

information to FAPIIS semiannually. 

Please review the requirements in 2 CFR 

part 200, Appendix XII, if this grant 

plus all the other Federal funds you 

receive exceed $10,000,000. 

5. In General: In accordance with 

OMB’s guidance located at 2 CFR part 

200, all applicable Federal laws, and 

relevant Executive guidance, the 

Department will review and consider 

applications for funding pursuant to this 

notice inviting applications in 

accordance with— 

(a) Selecting recipients most likely to 

be successful in delivering results based 

on the program objectives through an 

objective process of evaluating Federal 

award applications (2 CFR 200.205); 

(b) Prohibiting the purchase of certain 

telecommunication and video 

surveillance services or equipment in 

alignment with section 889 of the 

National Defense Authorization Act of 

2019 (Pub. L. 115–232) (2 CFR 200.216); 

(c) Providing a preference, to the 

extent permitted by law, to maximize 

use of goods, products, and materials 

produced in the United States (2 CFR 

200.322); and 

(d) Terminating agreements in whole 

or in part to the greatest extent 

authorized by law if an award no longer 

effectuates the program goals or agency 

priorities (2 CFR 200.340). 

VI. Award Administration Information 

1. Award Notices: If your application 

is successful, we notify your U.S. 

Representative and U.S. Senators and 

send you a Grant Award Notification 

(GAN); or we may send you an email 

containing a link to access an electronic 

version of your GAN. We may notify 

you informally, also. 

If your application is not evaluated or 

not selected for funding, we notify you. 

2. Administrative and National Policy 

Requirements: We identify 

administrative and national policy 

requirements in the application package 

and reference these and other 

requirements in the Applicable 

Regulations section of this notice. 

We reference the regulations outlining 

the terms and conditions of an award in 

the Applicable Regulations section of 

this notice and include these and other 

specific conditions in the GAN. The 

GAN also incorporates your approved 

application as part of your binding 

commitments under the grant. 

3. Open Licensing Requirements: 

Unless an exception applies, if you are 

awarded a grant under this competition, 

you will be required to openly license 

to the public grant deliverables created 

in whole, or in part, with Department 

grant funds. When the deliverable 

consists of modifications to pre-existing 

works, the license extends only to those 

modifications that can be separately 

identified and only to the extent that 

open licensing is permitted under the 

terms of any licenses or other legal 

restrictions on the use of pre-existing 

works. Additionally, a grantee or 

subgrantee that is awarded competitive 

grant funds must have a plan to 

disseminate these public grant 

deliverables. This dissemination plan 

can be developed and submitted after 

your application has been reviewed and 

selected for funding. For additional 

information on the open licensing 

requirements please refer to 2 CFR 

3474.20. 

4. Reporting: (a) If you apply for a 

grant under this competition, you must 

ensure that you have in place the 

necessary processes and systems to 

comply with the reporting requirements 

in 2 CFR part 170 should you receive 

funding under the competition. This 

does not apply if you have an exception 

under 2 CFR 170.110(b). 

(b) At the end of your project period, 

you must submit a final performance 

report, including financial information, 

as directed by the Secretary. If you 

receive a multiyear award, you must 

submit an annual performance report 

that provides the most current 

performance and financial expenditure 

information as directed by the Secretary 

under 34 CFR 75.118. The Secretary 

may also require more frequent 

performance reports under 34 CFR 

75.720(c). For specific requirements on 

reporting, please go to www.ed.gov/ 

fund/grant/apply/appforms/ 

appforms.html. 

5. Performance Measures: The 

Department has established the 

following Government Performance and 

Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) performance 

objective for the Academies Program: 

Participants will demonstrate through 

pre- and post-assessments an increased 

understanding of American history and 

civics that can be linked to their 

participation in the Presidential or 

Congressional Academy. 

For purposes of GPRA and 

Department reporting under 34 CFR 

75.110, we will track performance on 

this objective through the following 

measures: 

Presidential Academies: The average 

percentage gain on an assessment after 

participation in the Presidential 

Academy. 

Congressional Academies: The 

average percentage gain on an 

assessment after participation in the 

Congressional Academy. 

We advise applicants for grants under 

this program to give careful 

consideration to these measures in 

conceptualizing the approach and 

evaluation of a proposed project. Each 

grantee will be required to provide, in 

its annual and final performance 

reports, data about its performance with 

respect to these measures. 

6. Continuation Awards: In making a 

continuation award under 34 CFR 

75.253, the Secretary considers, among 

other things: Whether a grantee has 

made substantial progress in achieving 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
38066 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 135 / Monday, July 19, 2021 / Notices 

the goals and objectives of the project; 

whether the grantee has expended funds 

in a manner that is consistent with its 

approved application and budget; and, 

if the Secretary has established 

performance measurement 

requirements, the performance targets in 

the grantee’s approved application. 

In making a continuation award, the 

Secretary also considers whether the 

grantee is operating in compliance with 

the assurances in its approved 

application, including those applicable 

to Federal civil rights laws that prohibit 

discrimination in programs or activities 

receiving Federal financial assistance 

from the Department (34 CFR 100.4, 

104.5, 106.4, 108.8, and 110.23). 

VII. Other Information 

Accessible Format: On request to the 

program contact person listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, 

individuals with disabilities can obtain 

this document and a copy of the 

application package in an accessible 

format. The Department will provide the 

requestor with an accessible format that 

may include Rich Text Format (RTF) or 

text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 

file, braille, large print, audiotape, or 

compact disc, or other accessible format. 

Electronic Access to This Document: 

The official version of this document is 

the document published in the Federal 

Register. You may access the official 

edition of the Federal Register and the 

Code of Federal Regulations at 

www.govinfo.gov. At this site you can 

view this document, as well as all other 

documents of this Department 

published in the Federal Register, in 

text or Portable Document Format 

(PDF). To use PDF you must have 

Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is 

available free at the site. 

You may also access documents of the 

Department published in the Federal 

Register by using the article search 

feature at www.federalregister.gov. 

Specifically, through the advanced 

search feature at this site, you can limit 

your search to documents published by 

the Department. 

Ian Rosenblum, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and 

Programs delegated the authority to perform 

the functions and duties of the Assistant 

Secretary, Office of Elementary and 

Secondary Education. 

[FR Doc. 2021–15364 Filed 7–16–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

[Docket No.: ED–2021–SCC–0069] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission to the Office of 

Management and Budget for Review 

and Approval; Comment Request; 

Income Driven Repayment Plan 

Request for the William D. Ford 

Federal Direct Loans and Federal 

Family Education Loan Programs 

AGENCY: Federal Student Aid (FSA), 

Department of Education (ED). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ED is 

proposing an extension without change 

of a currently approved collection. 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

submit comments on or before August 

18, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments and 

recommendations for proposed 

information collection requests should 

be sent within 30 days of publication of 

this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/ 

do/PRAMain. Find this information 

collection request by selecting 

‘‘Department of Education’’ under 

‘‘Currently Under Review,’’ then check 

‘‘Only Show ICR for Public Comment’’ 

checkbox. Comments may also be sent 

to ICDocketmgr@ed.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

specific questions related to collection 

activities, please contact Beth 

Grebeldinger, (202) 377–4018. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Department of Education (ED), in 

accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 

3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general 

public and Federal agencies with an 

opportunity to comment on proposed, 

revised, and continuing collections of 

information. This helps the Department 

assess the impact of its information 

collection requirements and minimize 

the public’s reporting burden. It also 

helps the public understand the 

Department’s information collection 

requirements and provide the requested 

data in the desired format. ED is 

soliciting comments on the proposed 

information collection request (ICR) that 

is described below. The Department of 

Education is especially interested in 

public comment addressing the 

following issues: (1) Is this collection 

necessary to the proper functions of the 

Department; (2) will this information be 

processed and used in a timely manner; 

(3) is the estimate of burden accurate; 

(4) how might the Department enhance 

the quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; and (5) how 

might the Department minimize the 

burden of this collection on the 

respondents, including through the use 

of information technology. Please note 

that written comments received in 

response to this notice will be 

considered public records. 

Title of Collection: Income Driven 

Repayment Plan Request for the William 

D. Ford Federal Direct Loans and 

Federal Family Education Loan 

Programs. 

OMB Control Number: 1845–0102. 

Type of Review: Extension without 

change of a currently approved 

collection. 

Respondents/Affected Public: 

Individuals or Households. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Responses: 6,090,000. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Burden Hours: 2,009,700. 

Abstract: The Department is 

requesting an extension of the current 

information collection. The Department 

files this request with the same total 

annual number of respondents for this 

renewal collection as was used in the 

prior filing. Due to the effects of the 

COVID–19 pandemic and the 

suspension of the collection of loans, 

the Department lacks sufficient data to 

allow for more accurate updates to the 

usage of these forms. There has been no 

change in the underlying statutes or 

regulations which support these request 

forms. 

Dated: July 14, 2021. 

Juliana Pearson, 

PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and 

Clearance, Governance and Strategy Division, 

Office of Chief Data Officer, Office of 

Planning, Evaluation and Policy 

Development. 

[FR Doc. 2021–15247 Filed 7–16–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

[Docket No.: ED–2021–SCC–0006] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission to the Office of 

Management and Budget for Review 

and Approval; Comment Request; 

Higher Education Emergency Relief 

Fund (HEERF) Improper Payments 

Information Form 

AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary 

Education (OPE), Department of 

Education (ED). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ED is 

proposing an extension without change 

of a currently approved collection. 


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